Flavor of the Week
by BlueRubies
Summary: Lily Evans has everything that any girl could ever want. But life just couldn’t get better when Alexander Whitney asks her out. Little does she know, she is just his ‘Flavor of the Week’. Can James help open her eyes?
1. Announcement

_**Flavor of the Week**_

_Summary: Lily Evans has everything that any girl at Hogwarts could ever want. She had great friends, the best grades in her year, an extraordinary beauty that attracted many, including James Potter. Her life was pretty sweet, even she would admit. But life just couldn't get better when Alexander Whitney asks her out. Little does she know, she is just his 'Flavor of the Week'. Can James help open her eyes?_

_Author's Note: I have completely ignored all of my stories for practically a year, but I still really want to continue writing them. I like the storylines (even though they are not terribly original, at all), but I feel I have lost what I had originally intended for this story and the other stories to become. Therefore, I have decided to start anew and completely revise all of the chapters in this story. And since I'll be home most of the summer, I will have a lot of time to finish the story. So here it goes. I hope you like it._

_Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. I am not J.K. Rowling. Therefore, according to my brilliant deductions, I did not write Harry Potter or any of its characters._

Just in case you wanted to know the song, here it is:

Flavor Of The Week --American Hi-Fi

She paints her nails and she don't know  
he's got her best friend on the phone  
she'll wash her hair  
his dirty clothes are all he gives to her  
and he's got posters on the wall  
of all the girls he wished she was  
and he means everything to her

Chorus:  
Her boyfriend, he don't know  
anything about her  
he's too stoned, Nintendo  
I wish that I could make her see  
she's just the flavor of the weak

It's Friday night and she's all alone  
he's a million a miles away  
she's dressed to kill  
the TV's on  
he's connected to the sound  
and he's got pictures on the wall  
of all the girls he's loved before  
and she knows all his favorite songs

Chorus:  
Her boyfriend, he don't know  
anything about her  
he's too stoned, Nintendo  
I wish that I could make her see  
she's just the flavor of the weak

Yeah!  
her boyfriend, he don't know  
anything about her  
he's too stoned, he's too stoned  
he's too stoned, he's too stoned

Chorus:  
Her boyfriend, he don't know  
anything about her  
he's too stoned, Nintendo  
I wish that I could make her see  
she's just the flavor of the weak

Yeah she's the flavor of the weak  
she makes me weak

**CHAPTER ONE- **

The Gryffindor common room was buzzing with excitement. Everyone was crowded around a piece of paper that was posted on the wall. '_HOGSMEADE WEEKEND: Saturday, October 17th. For Third Years and Older_.'

It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. The sixth years were already swarmed with essays due until the end of the year. In the farthest corner of the room, sat a small group of girls hunched over their Charms homework. 'Oh, Hogsmeade! The seventeenth! I can't wait! What will I wear! Oh, I do hope someone will ask me by then. But I'm sure I would still have fun with you guys," said one of the girls excitedly. She was very pretty with long, blond hair that reached her waist, amazing green-blue eyes, and bronze skin

"Grace, it's not THAT exciting! It's still three weeks away," said the fair girl with wavy, ginger hair laughed showing off perfectly straight teeth. Her pea green eyes flickered to the girl next to her.

The brunette, Jackie, shook her head in a mock disapprovingly way, her warm brown eyes sparkling joyfully. "And who's to say, we won't have dates of our own?"

The three girls, Jacqueline Harte, Lily Evans, and Grace Remington, were best friends. They had been for the past five years. Jackie and Grace had known each other since they were five years old. Grace was from a powerful and wealthy family. Unlike her parents, who were rigid and uptight, Grace was vivacious and flamboyant. She was quite the dreamer, even with all of the luxuries she had. Jackie, not quite as well-off as Grace, grew up in a middle-class home with her parents and her three younger siblings (two boys, one girl). Jackie was very maternal and practical. One would have to be if they watched over smaller children like she did. Her mother and father, both Healers, worked until late at night. The two unlikely friends met in the park one day. Grace had escaped her etiquette lessons and Jackie had escaped her two little brothers. They became fast friends. They met Lily, a bewildered muggleborn, on the train to Hogwarts and took her under their wings. They hit it off immediately. However different they may have been, the three were some of the closest girls you could find at Hogwarts…and the prettiest.

"Come on, let's keep working. This essay is due tomorrow," groaned Lily.

All the way across the room there sat another group of four. They huddled over something, but it was not homework. "Okay, here's the plan. . ." one whispered as he ran his hand through his messy, brown hair.

James Potter was the official unofficial leader of the Marauders, the name the boys gave to themselves. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew formed the Marauders during their first year at Hogwarts. They dedicated all of their free time to planning (or carrying out) pranks on the Slytherins. The rest of the time was chasing girls or playing Quidditch. Not much of their life was spent doing schoolwork, yet they still received some of the highest scores, with the exception of Peter. They were the most infamous people in school, not only for their pranks, but for their extremely good-looks and charm, as well. Any of the four could win any girl in the whole school, apart from Lily Evans. James was absolutely smitten with her, but simply wouldn't have it. Any other girl at Hogwarts would kill to be in her position. Having the gorgeous Gryffindor Quidditch captain running after you isn't bad...not bad at all. But this was Lily. She didn't fall for his smooth lines and flattery like everyone else.

Ever since he read the announcement for Hogsmeade weekend, James had decided to ask Lily...again, even though he knew it would most likely result in a 'NO! DON'T YOU EVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN, POTTER' speech, closely followed by a slap across the face. But James was optimistic. After all one- hundred and thirty-ninth time's the charm!

_Chapter one was short and sweet. Just sort of a preface. I thought I needed to give a little background on Grace and Jackie because I was not sure if it would come up later. Review if you liked it, review if you didn't _


	2. Alexander Whitney

_**Flavor of the Week**_

_Author's Note: Okay, haven't written in a long time. I wanted to get this chapter out a week after the first, but I got a little distracted and then I went on vacation and then the rest is history. But it's finally here, and that's what counts! Right? I'm so excited! I just got the sixth Harry Potter and can't wait to keep finish. I haven't gotten that far, so I don't know if my story does or doesn't follow JK Rowling's. And you know what? I don't really care. I just hope that you like it. _

_Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. I am not J.K. Rowling. Therefore, according to my brilliant deductions, I did not write Harry Potter or any of its characters._

**

* * *

Chapter Two: Alexander Whitney **

Hogsmeade weekend was quickly approaching and the Marauders still hadn't found dates. It wasn't that none of the girls at Hogwarts wanted to go with them, because there were plenty.

Nobody seemed quite that interesting in Peter. He was rather shy. It was rare that he could even muster up the courage to ask someone out. And if by some chance, the girl agreed to a date with him, it definitely was not because of his looks.

Remus was not that concerned with finding a date, even though many would have willing given up their own dates to go with him. Besides he would have much rather spend the day with his mates.

Girls swarmed the roguishly handsome, Sirius who gladly basked in all the attention. He had quite a selection of girls to choose from, only which one to choose? He quickly eliminated the girls that talked too much, the ones that did not talk at all, the ones that had a peculiar smell about them, and the ones that he did not find particularly attractive. That narrowed it down a bit, but he still had a few decisions to make.

James, however, knew exactly who he wanted to take...Lily Evans, the striking Gryffindor, whom he had pursued since their fourth year. He found something very unique in Lily. He couldn't quite pin-point it, but it was there. She was beautiful, friendly, and intelligent, unlike many of the girls James had previously dated. He needed to ask her...and quick. Hogsmeade was only two days away. There was only one problem. Lily despised James.

Ever since they had met, Lily had felt a certain hate towards James. In her opinion, they were complete opposites...as different as light and dark, black and white, left and right, sweet and sour…well you get the picture. She was quiet and reserved; he was loud and obnoxious. She was mature, and James was childish. She was bookish, while he was athletic. She had never seen him even open a schoolbook before. Sure, they had quite a number of similarities, but she had failed to see them...or rather refused to. The differences were so much more significant to Lily.

It was a little more than a week until the trip to Hogsmeade, and James decided that he would ask Lily that day. But how? He had tried countless times before, all turned out to be unsuccessful. So he would use the standard way: just walk up and ask her at the opportune moment. He found the best opportunity during Potions class. They were working on a revival remedy, and James had just run out of liverwort leaf. James walked up to Lily's table, where Lily was writing something in her book and her partner, Julianne Hoeffler, was adding bat's breath to their potion. James took a deep breath and said, "Hey Jul, hey Lily."

"I had wondered when you would ask me," Lily said as she kept her eyes on the dragon's skin that she was carefully slicing. "And the answer is the same. No."

James, now with a slightly bruised ego, replied, "Actually…I wanted to borrow some of you liverwort. We had to start over. Peter added a little too much to the potion and it kind of overfilled. Now we don't have enough."

"Here's some, James," Julianne handed a few leaves.

"Thanks." And with that he walked back to his cauldron, trying not to show how rejected he felt. He scolded himself. He should have known that she still would have said no to him.

Much to Lily's dismay, she had Defense Against the Dark Arts class next, which meant she had to sit next to James Potter for a whole fifty-three minutes. Professor Live was the most callous teacher at Hogwarts. Lily could not help to feel more than a little contempt towards the man. She was convinced, along with the rest of the student body, that he sat down and thought of ways to torment his students. As if his class wasn't enough torture, he had made sure to it that Lily had to suffer with Potter's antics, as well. After the particularly grueling class, Lily set off for the Great Hall rather hastily to get away from James as quickly as possible and more importantly to avoid Professor Live, who she knew would have surely held her back to tell her how dreadful her shield spell had been.

In her rush to get away, Lily ran right into someone, a very tall someone. She was able to keep herself from falling, but all of her books fell to the floor. Lily swore under her breath. The person who she had run into chuckled a little before he bent down to help her. It was Alexander Whitney.

Alexander Whitney: the seventh year, Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, and to top all of that off one of the best looking guys at Hogwarts (besides the Marauders, of course). "Oh I'm terribly sorry. I was in a bit of a rush. Here, I think you dropped this." He flashed Lily a wide smile, as he handed her the book. Several girls close to Lily sighed at the sight of Whitney. His blond hair, blue eyes, and overall model-like appearance made girls go crazy for him. Alexander was what Lily regarded as the epitome of class and decorum. He was proper and romantic, honest and fair, not to mention absolutely gorgeous.

Alexander continued on to his table with a few of his friends. Lily, still a little bewildered from her run-in, sat down in-between Jackie and Grace. The food looked especially appetizing, but Lily couldn't eat all that much.

Lily and Jackie left dinner early to get a head start on a Charms essay, in hopes that they would have a little peace and quiet before everyone returned from dinner. James and Remus were the first ones to return to the common room. They sat at the table behind the couch where Lily and Jackie were working. Soon after their arrival, many satisfied students flocked to the common room. "He's staring at us, isn't he?" whispered Lily.

Jackie did not need to ask twice about who 'he' was. She looked at James who blushed and quickly inverted his gaze to the book that was in his hand. She smiled. "No…not _us_"

Lily gave a sigh of relief. "Good, the last thing I need now is Potter in my face."

"Actually, it's more like he's looking at _you_ rather than at both of us,"

"Swell, just swell."

"I don't see why you can't just…"

"Not you too, Grace said…"

As if on cue, Grace ran into towards the girls yelling, "LILY! LILY!"

"Whoa, slow down. You just ate half of everything that was on the Gryffindor table," laughed Sara Lee, who was in their dorm.

"Guess what!" said Grace. "You'll never guess!" gasped Grace who was completely out of breath. She paused a bit to catch her breath before continuing, "Anyways, Sara heard from Cindy, who heard from Lisa, who found out from Maria…who was told by Allison, who heard it from her best friend, Samantha King, that seventh year Ravenclaw, who heard it through her boyfriend, Benjamin, who's roommates with Christopher Butler, who told him that Alexander Whitney wants to take you to Hogsmeade!" Grace finished, again out of breath.

"Isn't that great, Lily?" said Sara excitedly.

"You are going to go with him, aren't you?" Grace asked eagerly.

Lily, who was still processing everything Grace had just said, sat a little stunned, maybe overwhelmed, until she realized the true meaning of the news. "Of course, if he asks me!" Lily said barely able to contain her excitement. Sara, Grace, and Lily giggled and jumped up and down, while Jackie watched a crushed looking James get out of his chair and go to his dormitory.

"Hey, Prongs," said Sirius, who surprisingly was alone. "Dinner was good, huh? I nearly ate the whole chicken that was in front of me."

"You did, Sirius," James said downtrodden. "And then you went on to eat all twelve of the éclairs."

"Yeah, they were pretty good too…" he noticed that his friend was troubled and stopped. "What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

"Alexander Whitney, that's what. That idiotic, narcissistic. . ."

"Pig-headed arse. I know," finished off Sirius.

"He wants to take Lily to Hogsmeade."

"Well, have you asked her yet?"

"Does that make a difference? She has already told me that she has no intention of even considering going with me. But we both know that she'll go with him if he asks because he's just '_perfect_'. He'll ask her out, and she'll say yes. Then they'll start dating. . ."

"Then they'll fall in love and shortly after get engaged. Then they will get married and live happily ever after, leaving you alone and miserable for the rest of your life," supplied Sirius.

"You know, you're not making me feel any better."

As the days went by, Lily was beginning to feel as though Alexander was never going to ask her. But sure enough, when Lily walked out of Transfiguration, Alexander was there waiting there for her.

"Hey! Wait!" Lily turned around a bit to quickly and hit Alexander in the arm, dropping her Transfiguration book. "Sorry, it happens every time we met. It's Lily, right?"

"Yeah," she smiled shyly.

"So, what's your next class?"

"Herbology,"

"Ugh, I just finished up there. Professor Bean had us clean the whole greenhouse after a gnome got in last night and trashed the place. It was a mess," he laughed. "How on earth did a gnome get in, in the first place. They are quite the troublemakers." Lily could not help but to think that this was Potter's doing; but the thought was quickly brushed aside. "I have a free period now. Why don't I walk you there?" Lily nodded.

They were almost to the classroom, and Alexander still hadn't even mention Hogsmeade. He talked about how he had looked forward to meeting such a lovely girl. And Lily was flattered, but was a little disappointed. Just when she was about to lose hope, he asked her, "So, are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone?"

"I was just going to go with my friends," she answered truthfully.

"Oh, if you already have plans then…"

Lily horrified at herself for almost missing her chance with Alexander quickly said, "It isn't official. I haven't decided yet."

"In that case, I would be delighted to have you join me tomorrow."

"I would very much like that,"

"Splendid! I'll see you around, then!" He put the books back in her arms and jogged away.


	3. Suggestions

_**Flavor of the Week**_

_Author's Note: Alright, I don't really have anything to say here, so I'll just leave you to your reading. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. I am not J.K. Rowling. Therefore, according to my brilliant deductions, I did not write Harry Potter or any of its characters._

**

* * *

Chapter Three: Suggestions **

Lily allowed her mind to wander through Herbology, Transfiguration, and even Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It probably was not the best idea, but she was just too excited. She could not wait to tell Grace and Jackie that Alexander Whitney had asked her out. She knew that they would die of excitement. She was sure she would too, if she didn't tell them soon. Lily stared across the room until she finally caught Grace's attention. James eyed Lily curiously, but she did not care. She mouthed to Grace, "I _have_ to tell you something."

"Miss Evans," Professor Live snapped. "Care to share with the rest of the class?" He sneered.

"No, Professor," she replied softly.

"Then I suggest you shut your mouth and wipe that ridiculous grin off of you face so I can continue with my lesson. And five points from Gryffindor for your inattentiveness. And you, Mr. Potter, detention. See me after class."

James, who had been still staring at Lily, looked to his teacher incredulously, his mouth hanging open. Lily almost laughed, but she thought better of it. First, Alexander asks her out, then Potter gets in trouble. The day just could not get better.

"And Miss Evans, it would be for your own benefit if you refrained from daydreaming and talking in my class instead of paying attention, for all of this material _will_ be on the final exam. That goes for all of you!" The whole class stopped whispering, quickly opened their books, and began taking notes. "As I was saying…the Reflection spell is used…"

As much as Lily tried to concentrate during the remainder of the class, she could not stop thinking about going to Hogsmeade with Alexander.

When James walked out of the classroom, Sirius and Remus were waiting for him. "This sucks," he mumbled.

"I know! How can he just give you a detention? You didn't even do anything!" Sirius was enraged, more so that even James, who was more depressed than angry, was.

Remus asked, "Did you at least talk to him?"

"Yeah, but without much luck."

"I can hex him if you want, Prongs," offered Sirius, suddenly very excited.

"He is a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. You don't think he knows how to protect himself from any hex you might try on him?" Remus always was the practical one.

A little downtrodden, Sirius murmured, "Good point. But I still don't like him. There's a reason why his name spells 'evil' backwards. That detention was totally uncalled for."

"Maybe he found that Hippogriff that you and James put in his closet."

"Could be. What do you think, James?" Sirius turned to James, who was a bit preoccupied in his own thoughts. "James?"

"Huh? This sucks," said

"Yeah, you said that already. And I already said 'I agree'," said a confused Sirius. Remus nodded.

"No, not the detention. Whitney's asked Lily to Hogsmeade!" cried James.

"How do you know? Maybe he hasn't, and you are just imagining things," supplied Sirius.

"He has. I saw Lily with him before Herbology. Sorry, mate." Remus patted his friend on the back.

"It's okay. Let's just forget about it."

"Come on, Pete's saving us seats."

All through dinner, Lily stole glances at Alexander, and James stole glances at Lily. He could not understand why Lily would not give him even the smallest chance. No, instead she had to go out with Alexander Whitney. The Marauders hated him down to the core. Not just because he was their competition on the Quidditch field and on the dating scene, but because he was asshole, in the nicest way to put it. James couldn't see what Lily saw in him. Before he knew it, Lily was walking out of the Great Hall with her friends. Alexander soon followed.

Lily recounted how Alexander had asked her to Grace, Jackie, and Sara. "And he carried my books…"

"What a gentleman!"

"And then he asked if I had any plans. I almost…." She stopped speaking when she heard her name being called.

"Lily! Lily!"

"It's Alexander!" cried Sara. Lily's face broke out into a big grin. She turned around just as he was coming to a stop.

"Lily, I'm glad I caught up with you. Could I have a word, please?" He was a little out of breath, but not one piece hair was astray.

"Sure, of course."

"Uh…alone, if possible" He glanced at Sara, Jackie, and Grace.

Sara giggled when he looked at her, and Grace twirled a curl around her finger. "Oh don't let us bother you. We are just waiting for Lily."

"Yeah, please, take your time." Lily looked to Jackie, who quickly understood and began to usher Sara and Grace towards the Gryffindor Tower. "Hey, what about Lily?"

"She's a big girl. We'll catch up with you later, Lil," called Jackie.

Lily smiled gratefully at her friend. She turned back to Alexander. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. So, um, Lily, I can't wait for Saturday."

"Neither can I. Only one more day," she said a little awkwardly.

"I just wanted to make sure we were still on for Saturday."

"Of course!"

"Great!" He turned to leave but then stopped in mid-step. "Actually, one more thing. We need to pick a place to meet. Do you have any suggestions?"

Lily thought a second and then replied, "I guess the best place would be the entrance to the Great Hall."

"Sounds good. I'll see you then." He quickly kissed her cheek and headed down a corridor. With her hand where his lips had touched her face, Lily also left, almost skipping, for her dormitory. Unbeknownst to her, two boys watched from a corner as she walked off.

"He kissed her! _He kissed her!_ I'll kill him." James was beside himself as he peered around the wall at the spot where the two had just been conversing.

"You're overreacting, James!" reasoned Sirius. "It was just a friendly peck on the cheek!"

"_Friendly?_ Doesn't matter! I'll kill him."

"Yeah, completely friendly…like this…" Sirius grabbed James's face and pulled it towards his own puckered lips.

"Sirius! What the hell are you doing! Have you gone bloody mad!" Wide eyed, James jerked away from his friend."

Someone chuckled behind them. "You know, if someone were to stumble upon the two of you in your cozy, little corner, they might think that you were involved in some kind of strangely intimate activities. Imagine if it were a first year! They would be scarred for life," grinned Remus who stood tall above his crouching friends.

"Hey, we are just two friends exchanging a _friendly_ gesture," said Sirius, enunciating a certain word for James.

"Really, I'd rather not know."

"Get off of me!" James managed to escape from Sirius's friendly hold, and he stood up, unconsciously running his hand through his hair. He groaned, "What am I going to do about Lily?"

"James, I suggest you just be yourself. Show her what you are really like, and she will come around," said Remus rationally.

"Well, do you know what I suggest?" Sirius exclaimed, while his friends exchanged weary glances. "I suggest we go to the common room, and sneak into the girls' dormitory through the window. You, James, will whisk Lily away and show her what you have to offer, while I stay in the dormitory and distract the other lovely ladies with my uncommonly charming charm," Sirius finished thoughtfully, grinning to himself. "I think I would very much enjoy that." After seeing the looks Remus and James were giving him though, he quickly added, "Or we can go with Remus's idea. Whatever. It was just a suggestion!"

* * *

_Hey, guys! I forgot to thank taniita (I did change the story, like Lily's friends are different. And I have played with the rest of the chapters too), Dream Phantom, and Catherine-Anna. I was so excited to get your reviews. Thank you! And for everyone else, I am awaiting yours too! Any questions, comments, concerns...all are welcome. Anyways, I love you guys just for reading my story. _


	4. Day Before

_**Flavor of the Week**_

_Summary: Lily Evans has everything that any girl at Hogwarts could ever want. She had great friends, the best grades in her year, an extraordinary beauty that attracted many, including James Potter. Her life was pretty sweet, even she would admit. But life just couldn't get better when Alexander Whitney asks her out. Little does she know, she is just his 'Flavor of the Week'. Can James help open her eyes?_

_Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long. I had a huge English essay due; and being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until the last minute to write it. Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: You know the deal. I did not create Harry Potter or any of its characters. Now that that's over with..._

**

* * *

Chapter Four: Day Before**

It was the day before the Hogsmeade trip and Lily's big date. Miraculously, Lily somehow managed to survive Herbology and Potions. She was so preoccupied though that she accidentally cut a little too much off of her struggling Wigbush and poured one too many vats of treebush sap into her Restoration Tonic, causing it to bubble over onto the floor, making the floor very sticky. It took a little while for the professor to find a spell that would clean up the mess and that freed the students who were glued to the dungeon floors.

Remus, James, and Sirius lounged on three large armchairs in front of the fireplace. "Ugh, I my trainers are still sticky from Potions. What was that stuff?" James wiped the bottom of his shoes with a napkin. The napkin proved to be a failure as it ended up sticking to his soles. He muttered a few spells, but none seemed to make an improvement.

"So what are you doing tomorrow, Moony?" Sirius opened a box and popped a Chocolate Frog into his mouth.

"McGonagall is giving me a quick review of what I missed while…" Remus looked around briefly to see if anyone was in hearing distance. When he saw two third years he finished up, "…while I was sick."

Sirius looked to his friend who was still trying to clean his sneakers. "Oh. Don't worry, James. Wormtail's still there. You can go around with him," Sirius said popping another Frog in his mouth.

James looked up and said, "Nuh-uh. Don't you remember? He said he was not going to go. I don't think he told us why though."

"Oh, right…"

Defeatedly, James put his wand down on the table, knowing that his attempts were futile. "It's alright. I have detention with Professor Live anyways."

"No way! He assigned detention during a Hogsmeade trip? That old duffer! That's totally unreasonable! I could just…" Sirius was in a rage, but soon calmed down. "Did you at least try to talk your way out of it?"

"Of course! He just gave me another detention next weekend for being cheeky."

"Bad luck, mate. We'll get him back," said Remus, who was flipping through a Quidditch magazine.

"You can miss the first Hogsmeade trip of the year! We have to go to Zonko's and stock up for the year. It's tradition!"

"So we will go next time. Besides, I didn't really want to go anyways,"

"Is this because you don't want to run into Lily?"

"No," James answered quickly. Remus gave him a skeptical look. James didn't want to dwell on the matter, so he changed the subject. "So what do you have planned, Padfoot?"

"I have a date," Sirius replied matter-of-factly.

"With who?"

"Holly…er…uh…something. I don't remember her last name. She's the leggy Ravenclaw Sixth year."

-------------------

Lily threw herself onto her bed. "Only one more night, then a whole day with Alexander." She twirled into the bathroom to change into her pyjamas.

"Tomorrow's going to be so dull without you, Lily," Grace called to into the bathroom.

"Hey, what am I? A piece of liver?"

"Of course not, Jack. I was just saying…"

Lily walked back into the room, humming a tune. "Oh guys, tomorrow is going to be so great!" She sat down on her bead and began braiding her hair, smiling.

"Aww, look, Grace. Lily's smitten!" Jackie and Grace aww-ed at their friend.

Lily looked at her two friends and whined, "Am not! I'm just excited is all."

"Sure," Grace chuckled.

"Okay, guys. I need some beauty sleep. Sweet dreams," Lily opened her covers and crawled into bed.

"She'll be having dreams of Alexander, no doubt," Jackie and Grace giggled. Lily took the pillow from under her head and playfully hit Jackie. Within moments, pillows were soaring across the room in an intense pillow fight.

------------------------------------------------

A pillow came down and smacked the sleeping lump repeatedly. James beat it until there was finally some sign of life. "Come on, Sirius! Wake up!"

"What are you doing?" James could just make out what the lump said from under the covers, choosing to ignore the stream of curses that escaped from Sirius's mouth.

"Get up! Otherwise, you'll be late for you date with Holly Whats-her-face."

"Leave me alone!" Sirius covered his head with his pillow. He rolled over, pulling the covers closers, and slightly opened his eyes. James was staring at him only five centimeters away from his face. He groaned, "Why are you doing this to me? Why do you always have to wake up so early? Why?"

James walked over to the window and pulled apart the deep red curtains, allowing the morning sun to come flooding into the room. "The morning is the best part of the day!"

"You are so utterly misguided. Mornings are meant for sleeping, not matter what you say. They are not for head starts on the day, watching the sun rise, Quidditch practices or any of your other crap. So just leave me alone," Sirius grumbled, squinting from the sudden brightness.

"That reminds me…I have to schedule a practice soon."

"Ugh! You know what? I give up! You win." He rolled out of his bed to his feet. I held onto his nightstand until the overwhelming dizziness that happens when you get up to fast passed. "What time is it anyways?"

"7:30"

"What! I could have slept at least another twenty-five minutes!"

"I thought you said that you were meeting Holly at 8:00." James stopped picking up all the clothes on the floor to look at his friend.

"I am. So?"

James walked into the closet and yelled, "Hey, you should be grateful. I was thinking about dumping you in the lake instead."

"I can't take this so early in the morning. Why do you have to be so cheerful in the morning? It ruins my whole day." Sirius glared at his friend. For some unfathomable reason, James always loved the morning. Ever since he was a kid, James woke up early. He never needed to be woken. He would always be up at 6:00, 6:30 latest, no matter how late he went to sleep. It seemed he had an endless supply of energy. Sirius just could not understand it. Even though they had been friends for forever, there were a lot of things about James that Sirius did not understand. Like why James fancied a girl who hated his guts, why he never ever got drunk even if he drank two pints of whiskey, why James always twirled his shoes before he put them on (first left, then right), and why he was such a morning person.

"Moony is in the washroom right now, and I think Peter left already. It is a little strange because I always have to wake him up on weekends. But you have to get going. It's going to be a beautiful day! The sun is shining. The birds are singing."

Sirius moaned, "How can you be so cheerful? Especially when you have detention with Live!"

James didn't answer, he just said, "I'm waiting for you downstairs."

Sirius found James sitting on a large, comfy couch in the corner of the common room talking to Remus in the chair across from him. Remus stood up and grabbed his books from the table, ready to leave. "What's going on?" asked Sirius.

"Nothing. Moony's just leaving for his lesson now," answered James. Remus nodded.

"See you later," Remus turned and headed out of the common room.

"Okay, I got to go as well. I'm already ten minutes late," Sirius told James.

James smirked, "And you wanted to sleep twenty-five more minutes."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back later, mate. And if I'm lucky, with a guest." Sirius winked and then went out of the portrait, leaving James all by himself.

James sat there for a few minutes, until he decided it was time for him to leave. He grabbed his wand and put it in his back pocket. He took his time getting to the portrait door, saying 'hi' to a few people here and there, looking at some of the books on the tables. When he reached for the door, he was taken aback when the door burst open before he even touched it.

"Excuse me," said a girl's voice, as she tried to enter the room.

James stepped out of her way and said, "Oh, I'm sorry." He looked at her. It was Lily.

She was smiling, but when she saw who she had run into, her smile turned into a scowl. "Potter!"

"Morning to you too," James gave her a sort of casual smirk.

"What are you doing here?" she sneered, forgetting why she came back in the first place.

"I'm leaving. What are you doing here?"

"I'm leaving too. My date's waiting for me, you know," she said satisfactorily. She knew he couldn't ask her out this time.

"How could I not know? The whole school knows," James said under his breath resentfully.

Lily raised her eyebrows, "What?" James shook his head. "I think you know him…Alexander Whitney." She was quite pleased with the way he was reacting.

"Yeah," James mumbled incoherently. He walked down the stairs a few steps behind her. Even though she was dressed modestly in a white longs sleeves shirt and a pair of jeans, she was looking gorgeous. James smiled at the girl he had longed for for so long. "I must say, you look stunning today, Evans."

"The nerve!" she huffed, and she started walking faster.

James quickened his pace and caught up to her and grabbed her arm. "What did I do? I was just giving you a compliment!"

She stopped and stared straight at him, sending him daggers. She said through clenched teeth, "Keep your hands off of me. I told you I already had a date, and yet you still take every chance to hit on me!" She pushed his arm away and ran the rest of the way. James couldn't help but think how pretty she looked when she was mad.

_

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I just wanted to thank the people who reviewed:_

_**JeNnIfEr88** and **Catherine-Anna** – I'm glad you both liked it. I really appreciate your reviews_

_**taniita** – I love you. You're the best! And in answer to your question…I think I got up to chapter seven before. So we're almost there…you'll be reading some new stuff soon._

_Come on guys! I need reviews! Tell me if you like it! Tell me if you don't! I didn't want to have to resort to this, but…I'm waiting for more reviews until I post the next chapter, so review! Okay, no more of that. Until next time…ciao!_


	5. Detention

_**Flavor of the Week**_

_Summary: Lily Evans has everything that any girl at Hogwarts could ever want. She had great friends, the best grades in her year, an extraordinary beauty that attracted many, including James Potter. Her life was pretty sweet, even she would admit. But life just couldn't get better when Alexander Whitney asks her out. Little does she know, she is just his 'Flavor of the Week'. Can James help open her eyes?_

_Author's Note: I just wanted to thank the people who reviewed: __**Hehe**, **taniita**, and **TheWitchHekate**. Also I just wanted to let you know that I'm going away for a wedding this weekend, and then school starts. So it might be at least a week before the next chapter comes in unless by some miracle, I can finish the next chapter by tomorrow. Read 'n Review._

_Disclaimer: You know the deal. I did not create Harry Potter or any of its characters. Now that that's over with..._

**

* * *

Chapter Five: Detention**

James followed Lily down the stairs. He saw Sirius and Whitney talking, but he couldn't hear a word. The Front Entrance was buzzing with excitement. A blond girl came running towards Sirius and Whitney. The two turned around. James assumed that the girl was Holly, the leggy blond from Ravenclaw. James growled when saw Alexander eyeing her up and down. When Whitney finally tore his eyes away from the curvaceous girl, he kissed Lily, who hadn't noticed anything, on the cheek. James watched as Sirius and his date, followed by Lily and Alexander who, much to his disgust, were walking hand-in-hand, walked out the school.

James didn't have much time to be upset about Lily and Alexander because he had to go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom for his detention. He went to the Great Hall had a few pieces of toast and some scrambled eggs and then left for detention. When he arrived Professor Live was waiting for him.

"You're late, Mr. Potter," he snapped.

"I'm sorry, sir," James mumbled.

"I should give you a harsher punishment. But lucky for you I'm feeling generous. Let's get down to business. You have two options. You can either read this book…" He dropped a large book onto the table. The tattered book looked to be at least eighteen kilograms (roughly 40 pounds) with well over 1000 pages. "…and write a paper including every hex, curse, charm, or any other spell in the book along with its use, counter curse, and properties."

"Or?" James raised his eyebrow. There was no way he was going to read that whole book. Any other option would be ten times easier.

"Or," Live sneered. "You can dust and then organize my book collection."

The choice was obvious. James responded quickly, "I'll do the books."

"Fine. Follow me." Professor Live walked off; and James followed him to a door in the back of the room. James knew this was too easy. There had to be a trick to it. In James's extensive history of detentions with Professor Live, he had never had to do something as simple as this. He had had to clean after a troll when he and Sirius had turned Live's hair to a violent shade of orange. Then, Live made James copy word-for-word from the _Wizard's Encyclopedia _until his hand almost fell off when Live found the troll's remains in his desk. But this was just too easy.

"You must wipe down all of the shelves and all of the books. Then you must order the books by year of publication. Any questions?" Live's back was to James as he walked forward to open the curtains.

"Yeah. What if two books have the same year of publication?"

"Then you must arrange those alphabetically by the author's middle name," answered Live a little harshly.

"What if the author doesn't have a middle name?"

Annoyed with James's antics, he snarled, "Then you will put them in order by the author's last name. Okay, Potter?"

"Yes, sir," James said as sweetly as he could. He pulled out his wand, ready to get started.

Professor Live was about to leave, when he eyed James's wand. "Oh, I almost forgot. You are to do this without any magic." He took James's wand from his hand, put it on the nearest table, and cast a spell that caused the wand to be illuminated by a blue light. "And if you even think about taking your wand, you will receive a nasty suprise. When you are finished, you will knock _once _on my door. I'll be in to check on you."

James groaned at the two, long shelves, which were covered in dust and cobwebs. It seemed that no one had even stepped into this room for the past fifty years. James guessed that there were probably about one hundred to two hundred books in each bookcase. It was quite apparent that he would be in here for a few hours, so he got down to work. The faster he got the books ordered, the faster he could get out of this classroom.

Forty-five minutes later, James finished dusting the whole room. Professor Live had come in twice to check on the progress. However, both times he left with a scowl and unhappy at how efficiently James was working. Although his dormitory did not show it, James was actually very organized. He began pulling the books and systematically placing them in piles on the floor according to the year of publication.

It was tedious work. James allowed his mind to wander. He shook his head and chuckled at Sirius's performance this morning, which reminded him again that he had to schedule another Quidditch practice. The team needed it. The next match was against Hufflepuff. They were good. George Madden, the seeker, was new, but James had heard he was fast and sharp. James was not that worried. After all, he was the best seeker at Hogwarts. The Gryffindor team was the best, but James knew that Hufflepuff would give them a fight. Alexander Whitney, the captain, had been training them hard. Alexander made James think of Lily. He was repulsed by the thought of the two of them snogging in the Madame Puddifoot's or in the corner of the Three Broomsticks. James got upset with the idea of Lily kissing anyone besides him, but the thought of her with Alexander Whitney made him want to vomit. '_Lily deserves better,'_ James thought. _'Whitney is such a git. Why did Lily have to pick him?'_ James asked himself this over and over, all while putting the books on the shelves.

Within two and a half hours, James replaced the last book on the floor and sat exhausted against one of the shelves. He had cuts along his arms and a few on his face from the one book, _Save Yourself from Deadly Creatures_, which had bit and scratched the moment he opened the book to look for the date. Patches of hair and the sleeves of his shirt had been singed from the fire 'breathing' books. Bells were still ringing in his ears from the numerous shrieking books.

It was a long walk, out of the closet, across the classroom, and up the stairs to Professor Live's door. James knocked once just as Professor Live had specifically asked. Live was taking his time answering the door. James was about to knock one more time, when the professor opened it. "Finished then?" James nodded. "Let's have a look, shall we?"

They walked back to the closet in the back. Professor Live scrutinized the room for any piece of dust. He was disappointed with his findings. The room was clean. "It seems you have done an adequate job," he said, picking up the first book on the shelf. "Oh wait. You must start this again."

"Why?" James yelled angrily.

"You have ordered the books from past to present. I wanted it the other way around. The most recent should be here, the others go over there. I want it fixed." He handed James the book and walked out briskly.

James gritted his teeth. Live had never specified. He was doing this to spite James. While James switched the books, his mind wandered back to Lily. For some reason, James had been captivated by her since second year. The Marauders thought he was crazy for liking a girl who hated him with a passion, but they stood by him when he asked her out with no avail.

When James finished an hour later, he went and knocked on Live's door again. Professor Live inspected his work again, finally finding it satisfactory. He handed James his wand and said, "I suppose you are finished here. However, seeing as how it's much too late to go to Hogsmeade now, I suppose you will just have to go back to your dormitory and just wait for everyone's return. If I were you I would spend the time wisely and start on a very important Defense Against the Darks essay that is due in two days."

It was only one-thirty when James returned to the Gryffindor common room. He sat on the couch contemplating what he should do with himself for the rest of the day. _'If I leave for Hogsmeade now, I'll be all alone. But if I stay in the common room, I'll still be alone. So either way, I'll be alone.' _James debated with himself. '_What would I do here? Read? Finish that essay? Play chess by myself? I could wander the castle…and then what? If I go to Hogsmeade, I could get some early Christmas shopping done. In October? I still have time. I'm dying to check out the new model broomstick, and I would love some butterbeer. I wonder if Remus is finished with his lesson.' _

As if on cue, Remus entered the room, looking a little weary. "Too much Transfiguration in one day." He threw his pile of books onto the table.

James smiled at his friend. "So would you say you're up to some butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks?"

"Yeah, I could definitely go for some. Let me just take these upstairs."

"Great!" James followed Remus to their dormitory. He rummaged through his trunk. "You don't think we need the invisibility cloak now, do we?"

"Nah, we should be okay. Maybe take the map just in case."

James continued to search for his map, but couldn't find it. "I can't find it now. It's alright, I'm sure it's in here. And we don't really need it. Let's go."

The two left the room and went on their way. James told Remus about his detention with Live. "It was awful. So how was your lesson?"

"About as much fun as your detention," Remus replied.

The two boys found their way to the third floor very easily. They didn't even need the map. After having the map for the last two years, all of the Marauders knew their way around the castle like it was the back of their hand. "Remus, would you like the honors?" James stepped aside.

"It would be my pleasure." Remus took out his wand and tapped hump of the humpbacked, one-eyed witch. "_Dissendium_!" The witch slowly moved away, revealing the familiar, dark passageway. "After you, Prongs."

_

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Here's a question for you guys: __Would you have done the books or would you have written the paper?_

_Or if you don't happen to like that question: __Would you have rather gone to detention or gone to a class (like Remus) for four hours?_


	6. Hogsmeade

_**Flavor of the Week**_

_Summary: Lily Evans has everything that any girl at Hogwarts could ever want. She had great friends, the best grades in her year, an extraordinary beauty that attracted many, including James Potter. Her life was pretty sweet, even she would admit. But life just couldn't get better when Alexander Whitney asks her out. Little does she know, she is just his 'Flavor of the Week'. Can James help open her eyes?_

_Author's Note: I just wanted to thank the people who reviewed: **Diana **and **taniita**, you guys are the best. I wanted to say sorry for the huge delay. Life's just so busy. I finally had the night off and spent it seeing the fourth movie with a friend. Anyways, I'm kinda excited for this chapter…I like it. So Read 'n Review._

_Disclaimer: You know the deal. I did not create Harry Potter or any of its characters. Now that that's over with..._

**

* * *

Chapter Six: Hogsmeade**

Remus took out his wand and tapped hump of the humpbacked, one-eyed witch. "_Dissendium_!" The witch slowly moved away, revealing the familiar, dark passageway. "After you, Prongs."

The two boys disappeared into the hollow tunnel. The familiar journey was silent except for the echo of their footsteps. They lifted the latch door and climbed out into the Honeydukes' cellar. As inconspicuously as possible, James and Remus entered the main part of the store from the back door without being seen, which was a rather easy task as the store was swarming with students. After purchasing a few Hopper Poppers and Coconut Cremes, they left the store for the fresh outdoors, the door ringing behind them.

For the middle of October, it was unusually warm. It felt good to be outside. With his bag of candy in hand, the perfectly content James strolled down the main street of Hogsmeade, occasionally stopping to look into the store windows. He waited while Remus went into Durvish and Banges to look at an article posted on the door of the building. Completely immersed in his reading, he was caught by surprise when someone bumped into him. A girl had run into him and had fallen to the ground, taking her many bags with her.

"I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz," the girl mumbled, dusting off her pants. James noticed she had a slight lisp, but, being the gentleman that he is, he didn't say anything. The girl stood up. She wasn't particularly attractive. . .at all. She had limp, brown hair that hung to her shoulders. She was stout...short and a little on the chubbier side.

"Seems you got a lot of shopping done," laughed James. The girl just smiled showing a toothy grin and stood there nodding. "I'm James." She nodded, the smile still plastered on her face. James extended his arm for a handshake. "And you are?"

"Oh, Diana Saunders." She took his hand lightly.

"I was just reading this article. Then I have got to go," James said politely, pointing at the article. "I promised myself I'd do some shopping. But it was nice meeting you."

"You too," she smiled. James began reading where he left off, but couldn't get much further than the next sentence. He had the strangest feeling that someone was watching him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Diana staring at him...smiling. He put on a grin and turned around. "You're still here? What's wrong?" he was trying to sound nice, but was afraid it sounded annoyed instead.

"Nothing. I just wanted to say it was nice meeting you. And that I hope we meet again, but I have to go," she spoke slowly, pausing in between every other word, but that grin never left her face.

'_That's what she waited so long to say! I thought we had said that before!'_ thought James wondering if she was acting like this on purpose, but somehow he also thought that this was just the way she was. "Okay, bye, Diana!" he waved good-bye, and she left.

James wanted so badly to finish the article on the door but was again interrupted when Remus walked out with Mr. Banges. "I thought I had told that good-for-nothing troublemaker to stay away from here and to never post this rubbish ever again!" Mr. Banges ripped the article from the door, crumpling it as he walked away. He muttered, "Dark Lord! Ha! Never heard anything so ludicrous!"

James and Remus continued down the streets, when Remus stopped. "Damn," he said, looking in his bag of purchases from the bookstore. "This isn't the book I wanted. I have to go back."

James looked at him, "Do you want me to come along?"

"Nah, it's okay. It might take me some time. You go ahead to the Quidditch shop. I'll meet you at The Three Broomsticks."

"Alright, see you, mate!" The two walked off in different directions. James knew that Remus wasn't too fond of going to the Quidditch Shop and would go to the bookstore over it any day; but like the good friend that he is, he always went for the sake of James and Sirius.

Quidditch was James's passion. His philosophy was that there were only two important things in life: love and Quidditch. James would eat, sleep, and breathe Quidditch if he could. For weeks now, he had been dying to see the new broomstick model: The Twister 2001. Traveling at unprecedented speeds, the Twister was said to be the best of the best, the crème de la crème. Sure, James had his reliable Twister 2000, but this state-of-the-art broom would only increase his already incredible game even more. He had hinted, subtly of course, to his parents about the broom and was looking forward to acting surprised when he found it under the Christmas tree.

James pushed through the crowd of awed students to catch a glimpse of the broom on display in the window. To him, it was a piece of art. When he finally tore his eyes away from the Twister, James wandered the aisles of the Quidditch shop. A half an hour later, he remembered that he was supposed to meet Remus at Zonko's. He walked out of the store, a little reluctantly, and headed towards the corner shop.

He was almost there when he heard, "James! James! Wait for me". James stopped and waited until a panting Sirius caught up to him. "How goes it, mate? So you decided to come?" Sirius asked trying to recover his breath.

"Yeah. What are you doing here? Where's Holly?"

Sirius was rummaging through the bag of Quidditch paraphernalia that James had brought on an impulse. "Who?"

"Holly? Your date?" reminded James.

"Oh...yeah...her. Um...I dunno. Well, guess..." Sirius began, but was stopped.

"Sorry, but, er. . .shouldn't you be with her? She _is_ your date."

Sirius seemed to ponder over the thought for a few seconds before he said, "Nah." He waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Shouldn't you be looking for her?" James said concernedly.

"Why? I know where she is."

"Then where is she?"

"She's at the corner table of Madame Puddifoot's waiting for me to come out of the loo," he said.

"And why would she think you were in the loo?" James said trying to get an answer from his friend.

"Because that's where I told her I was going!" Sirius answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And why would you tell her that?"

"Hey! I'm not the criminal here! You would've done the same thing had you been in my position. We were talking, and I simply asked if she liked animals, specifically dogs. Then she got all weepy and broke into tears about her poor little dog, ChooChoo."

"And you left her there! All alone and upset?" Sirius nodded sheepishly. "Can't you be the least bit sympathetic, Sirius? You're the reason she started crying."

"It wasn't me! It was the stupid dog! And, besides, you know I can't deal with crying girls," Sirius defended himself. James looked at him. "Oh, don't give me that look. I'll go back and fetch her as soon as we're done."

"Done what?"

"Our business," and with that Sirius grabbed James's arm and began towards the corner shops.

"So, um, where exactly are you taking me?" James asked, being pulled down the street.

"I'm taking you to the Three Broomsticks, so we can plan a course of action over a few butterbeers."

"Course of action? For what? And let go of my hand! People are staring!" James twisted his wrist to try and free himself from Sirius's hold. They stopped in the middle of the crowded street. Sure enough, several pairs of eyes were watching them suspiciously.

"So what, Jamsie-poo!" he yelled loud enough for the people to hear. "I can't take it anymore! We can't hide our relationship any longer! We should just come clean!" Sirius was triumphant. This made the bystanders watch even more intently.

James scowled at his friend, "Stop it! Get off of me!" He hit Sirius's hand away.

"Come along, darling! We don't want to make a scene!" sang Sirius as he put his arm around James's shoulders and guided down the street.

Once they were away from the crowd, James yelled, "What was that all about!"

"Oh, I was just having some fun, James! Did you see their faces! That was so. . ."

"Regardless, we're too old for those immature jokes."

"What? Just last week, you would have thought that was funny. What's wrong with you?" Sirius looked at his friend with concern.

James ignored his statement and said, "C'mon. If we don't get to the Three Broomsticks soon, all the tables will be taken. I am supposed to meet Moony. Maybe he is already there."

"Fine. Let's go" Sirius walked away.

James tried to ease the awkwardness that had just past. He said, "What was it that we were going to talk about again, Sirius? Sirius?" Nobody answered so James turned around to see his friend several paces behind him staring at something in the display window.

Sirius's face was pressed against the window. "I have to get me one of these things!" he said.

Displayed in the window of Zonko's was a sign that said, "Have you ever wanted to be in two places at once? Now you can! You can program this incredible device to look exactly you! Acting as a life-like hologram, it can store phrases too, serving as an ideal mean to get out of undesired situations! Get yourself one today!" Next to the sign was a man waving them inside the store, more specifically, Eli Tours, the world-famous Quidditch Chaser.

"Look at it, James! It looks just like Eli Tours, but there's no way in hell he'd be here in Hogsmeade! It's amazing! C'mon!" Once again, James found himself being dragged by the arm into the store. "I can use it to get out of History of Magic classes. Professor Bohren wouldn't even notice! After all, History of Magic is quite an undesired situation to be in." James couldn't agree more. They walked through the aisles of the store, gathering more and more stuff. "I have to have this!", "And this!", "Oh, this is neat. I'll get that too!"

"Well, if it isn't my most profitable customers! How are you, guys?" smiled the man at the counter. He was young, not much older than James. In fact, he resembled James a lot.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Zonko himself!" smiled Sirius.

"Hey, Dan," James waved to the man. Daniel Bridges was James's cousin and incidently the co-founder of Zonko's Joke Shop. It was from Danny that James earned his rebellious streak and learned most of the spells that he used to trick teachers or to pull pranks on the Slytherins. James and the rest of the Marauders were, in fact, the inspiration for many of the products that Zonko's offered. And in return for their insight, the Marauders received a special discount off of Zonko's merchandise.

Sirius dumped all of his stuff onto the counter. There were a few stink bombs, two bags of jellybeans that turned your skin different colors, a leaking quill, four pieces of parchment (two that soak up ink, one that hides the ink, and another that looked normal, but probably wasn't), a fake wand, a bottle of an unknown potion, and a rubber chicken. "That's it?" James shrugged at his cousin's statement. "In any case, it seems that you will be busy for awhile."

"Oh, and don't forget one of those nifty hologram things in the window, please." And, finally, with four bags full of supplies and a significantly lighter bag on money, the two boys left.

"Gosh, Sirius, could've just bought the whole store with all you got," groaned James as he carried two of the bags, both weighing twenty pounds, or so he thought.

"Hey, not a bad idea. We do have that nice discount. So, where to next?"

"The Three Broomsticks."

"Oh, good idea. All this shopping has made me thirsty."

Before another word could be spoken, a shrill voice could be heard yelling Sirius's name. It was an attractive, busty, blond-haired girl, running towards them. Sirius handed James all of the bags.

"Sirius! Sirius!" the girl, supposedly Holly, stopped in front of them and tried to straighten herself up, fixing her hair and adjusting her short skirt to show even more leg than it was before. "Where did you go, darling?" she cooed.

"Oh, well. . ." Sirius started. "You're heart-wrenching story about your little ChooChoo really got to me. Right here." He patted his chest. "I needed to compose myself before returning to you. I didn't want you to see me in pieces."

"Aww, you're so sensitive," Holly gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Yeah, I needed a breath of fresh air, so I came out here, where I saw James. I was so distraught. Wasn't I, mate?" Sirius stressed the word 'mate' as he eyed James expectantly.

James, who had been trying to collect all the bags that Sirius had thrown at him, stood up and looked from Sirius to Holly, "Oh. . .er. . .yeah, he was very distraught." James watched as Holly stroked Sirius's hair. "Well, I guess I'd better be going. I have got to meet Remus at the Three Broomsticks,"

James said. But when he saw the pleading look that Sirius was giving him, he added hesitantly,

"Er…would you care to join us?"

"That would be wonderful!" squealed Holly, who was anxious at the thought of having lunch with all of the Marauders. "If it's not too much of an intrusion," she added, but not without giving James a sly wink.

"No, it's. . .er. . .no problem."

Sirius opened the door for her, "After you, my dear."

Holly giggled, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, "Why, thank you!"

Sirius went to follow Holly into the Three Broomsticks, but James grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back into the street. "You need to get rid of her. There's no chance in hell I'm sitting with her the rest of the day." Sirius gave a nod of comprehension. They walked in, and the door closed with a little tinkle of bells.

-------

Peter quietly closed the door behind him at quarter until seven. He slipped past many students unnoticed. Every so often, he stopped to check if anyone was following. Glancing at the piece of parchment in his hand periodically, he soon found the room he was looking for. He paused hesitantly before the door in front of him opened. Peter cautiously entered the dark room. "Peter Pettigrew," whispered a harsh, hissing voice only loud enough for him to barely hear. "Ssso glad you could make it. Have a ssseat."

_

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Okay, that's it! Don't' forget to review! Oh, yeah! Here's a few question for you guys: Did you like the 4th movie or the fourth book better? Did you like the third movie or the fourth?_


	7. Holly and Alex

_**Flavor of the Week**_

_Summary: Lily Evans has everything that any girl at Hogwarts could ever want. She had great friends, the best grades in her year, an extraordinary beauty that attracted many, including James Potter. Her life was pretty sweet, even she would admit. But life just couldn't get better when Alexander Whitney asks her out. Little does she know, she is just his 'Flavor of the Week'. Can James help open her eyes?_

_Author's Note: Thanks to the people who reviewed: **Catherine-Anna, Aimee S.,**_ _**shmokey-bear, **__and **taniita**, you guys are the best. I could almost shoot myself because it took so long for me to even type up this chapter. I can't believe what a procrastinator I am, and you guys are so great to come back to me (even after 3 or 4 months). I made it extra long to make up for the delay. Enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: You know the deal. I did not create Harry Potter or any of its characters. Now that that's over with..._

**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Holly and Alex**

The Three Broomsticks was teeming with people. When James opened the door an almost deafening sound of chatter filled their ears. James pushed through the crowd and followed Sirius and Holly to the Marauders' usual table at the back of the restaurant.

They approached the corner table, where they found Remus sitting, engrossed with an article in the newspaper. "Hey, where were you?" Remus asked, even before he had turned to see who it was.

"Sorry, Moony. We got a little distracted," James said, pulling up the chair beside Remus.

"Hullo, Padfoot," Remus smiled at Sirius. He then eyed Holly who was carefully adjusting her shirt so that it showed just a little more cleavage than before. "Hi, I don't think we've met before. I'm Remus." He stretched out his hand.

"I know. I'm Holly," Holly smiled. Her friends would be so jealous when she told them that she had drinks with not just one Marauder, but three! But she was with Sirius, and that's all that really matter to her.

She giggled gleefully as Sirius pulled out a chair for her across from Remus. "What a gentlemen."

"Well, hello, boys," the young, rather attractive waitress smiled. "The usual?"

"Are we that predictable, Rosie?" chuckled Remus.

She laughed. The boys conversed with Rosie, laughing and joking, until Holly cut in with a coughing fit. She didn't seem to like all the attention that Sirius was giving to Rosie.

Rosie looked up, still smiling, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. What can I get for you?"

Holly put her arms around Sirius's neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll just have whatever my Siri-poo is having."

"Are you sure?" Rosie questioned. Holly nodded, and Rosie left to get their drinks.

Holly's arms were still around Sirius's neck when Rosie came back a few minutes later with the drinks. Rosie placed the four mugs filled with a bright, orange liquid and steaming a blue mist onto the table.

Holly grabbed for one of the mugs and quickly took a huge gulp before spraying it across the table. She screeched, "That is the most vile, disgusting drink I've ever tasted in my life!"

Rosie gave a hearty laugh, "I thought you would say that, so I took the liberty of bringing you a butterbeer as well."

"Thank you," she mumbled. Holly drank almost the whole mug of butterbeer in attempt to rid herself of the vile taste. "What in Merlin's name is that!" she asked when she put her mug back down on the table.

"We concocted it ourselves," explained Remus.

James nodded, "Yeah, it has some butterbeer, a sprits of vanilla, ground ginger, a pinch of salt, dragon's breath, the eye of a newt. . ."

"Among other things," said Sirius mysteriously. "But if we told you the rest we'd have to kill you."

Rosie laughed and turned to Holly. "I've tried it too, and it isn't to my liking either."

"It's an acquired taste," James explained.

"Well, if, you boys, need anything else, just give a holler. It was nice meeting you, Holly," and with that Rosie returned to her work.

"Awww, look at Moony! He's smitten!" chortled Sirius. Sirius was making kissing faces and teasing Moony. "Moony and Rosie! Moony and Rosie!"

Remus kicked him from under the table, blushing, "Shut it."

"Ouch!" Sirius cringed in pain, nursing his shin.

"At least Remus doesn't sleep with a certain little teddy bear, like someone else we know," James teased.

"Hey!" pouted Sirius. "That is private information!"

"I think it's adorable, Siri-poo," Holly cooed.

Remus, James, and Sirius then began a lengthy battle of insults, only to be interrupted by Holly a little while later. "Siri-poo?" Holly smiled sweetly. "Will you get me another drink, please?"

Sirius got up, "Sure. Be back in a second."

"Butterbeer, please. Thank you, darling!" she called after him. When he was out of earshot, she turned back to Remus and James, no longer with that sickening smile on her face. "You shouldn't play like that with a man who has so little time left."

Remus and James looked at eachother. "So little time left? What do you mean, Holly?" asked Remus.

She went on to explain, her eyes getting teary. "When I heard of his terminal illness, my heart went out to him, but you. . . you, his own friends! Oh, and the gnomes. . ." she broke down into tears, burying her face in her hands. James patter her back awkwardly, while giving a look to Remus that clearly said 'what-the-hell-is-this-girl-talking-about'.

Remus just played along and said, "Oh. . ._that_ terminal illness! We try to forget about it the best we can. We try to make his last days, the best days of his life by treating him like a normal person. Right, James?"

James stuttered, "Er, right. That's the way he would've wanted it, anyways."

Remus kept going, "Any mention of it, really, actually upsets him."

Holly dried off her tears and gave a solemn nod of understanding. Sirius came back with a butterbeer in his hand. "Well, here you are." He looked at Holly, who was giving him a look of deep pity and at Remus and James, who were looking at him disapprovingly. "What's wrong with all of you?" He sat down hesitantly.

"Oh Siri-poo!" Holly wrapped her arms around him again and mumbled into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry." When Sirius looked to his two friends, they shrugged their shoulders.

James, Remus, and Sirius continued their conversations about Quidditch and Professor Live's horrible lectures, among other things. Meanwhile, Holly watched silently, sipping her drink and occasionally sniffling.

"Would you excuse me, please. I need to go to the little girl's room,"

Sirius got up to let her pass. She also stood up and wrapped her arms around him. She nibbled his ear and kissed his cheek. "But don't worry, Siri-poo. I'll come back quickly."

"Oh goody," Sirius said, grimly.

The boys watched her leave. Once she was clear out of sight, James and Remus turned back to Sirius, grinning. "So, Siri-poo, is it serious?" Remus said.

"Yeah, I knew that stupidity was a terminal illness, but I didn't know that it was so life-threatening," James said gravely, but his eyes twinkled mischievously.

Sirius had a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?"

James, keeping on with the hoax, said, "Padfoot, you could have told us about your terminal illness. We would have accepted you all the same."

Sirius still looked puzzled, so Remus added, "Yeah, we had to learn the horrible truth from Holly!"

"Oh, you're talking about that terminal illness. Yes, it's called gastrognomitis."

"Right"

"What exactly is it?"

"It's a very rare disorder acquired at birth where a stomach gnome inhabits your body and consumes all of the food first and then all of the organs in your body, possibly leading to death."

"I thought being a werewolf was the worst, but I see now that I was mistaken. Stomach gnomes: that sounds horrible," Remus shuddered.

James leaned back in his chair and said, "Well, I guess that explains your enormous appetite. You're really feeding two: you and your gnome."

Remus then said, in all seriousness, "You know, she really believed you, Padfoot. Why would you tell her something like that? Now she thinks that you could die at any moment."

"I know, I know. That was bad of me," Sirius said hurriedly, glancing around over his shoulder. "If I promise I won't do it again, will you help me get rid of her?"

"You want to get rid of her now?" Remus asked. "You're so insensitive."

"I don't blame him, Moony," James added. "The girl's driving me crazy."

"shhh," whispered Sirius. "Here she comes." Holly came smiling back to the boys' table, her face fresh with newly applied makeup. Sirius got up to let her back into her seat. She adjusted her skirt, pecked Sirius on the lips, and then slid into her chair.

"I hope, you boys, didn't miss me too much," she said sweetly. Sirius gave a half-snort, half-groan sort of noise. "Awww, what's wrong, Siri-poo?" Sirius groaned again, his face contorted with disgust at the pet name. James took this as the signal.

"Ralph must be acting up again," said James knowingly to everyone, but looking at Remus. Sirius gave a questioning look to his friend.

"Who's Ralph?" asked Holly, even more confused that Sirius.

"Why, Ralph is Sirius's stomach gnome, of course. He must be getting hungry," Remus explained.

Sirius finally understood and played along. He reeled over his chair, clutching his stomach and making loud, painful-sounding groans. He pounded the table with his fist for added effect.

"Ohh, my poor, Siri-poo! Shouldn't we do something!" cried Holly.

"It's okay. I'll be alright," Sirius whispered scratchily. Then he again lurched forward, grabbing his stomach and whimpering.

"No, you're not alright," Remus said firmly. "James and I will take you back to Hogwarts and up to the Infirmary for your potion." Remus and James rose. James took Sirius' arm and brought him to his feet.

"I'll go with you," Holly offered. She appeared to be very concerned. She began to stand, but Sirius put his hand up.

"Please, you stay. I'll be alright. I wouldn't want to pain of knowing that you didn't enjoy you're Hogsmeade trip with me on top of the pain Ralph is causing me. You enjoy yourself."

"Siri-poo! How can I possibly enjoy myself, knowing that you are being eaten alive! I'm going with you," Holly insisted. She put on her blazer.

"No!" Sirius almost shouted. "Please. I couldn't bear to let you see me in such pain." Sirius started walking with James and Remus towards the door. "I promise I'll talk to you when I get better!" Holly blew him a kiss as she watched him wave goodbye.

Sirius turned to his friends, when Holly was out of sight, behind a rather large group of goblins. "That was close. Thanks, guys. I owe you," he sighed.

"You bet you do. You owe us, big time. You're just lucky Prongs here cooked that up so quickly," Remus answered.

"Yeah, thanks, mate." Sirius patted James on the back. But James didn't seem to notice. He was watching Lily and Alexander walk in and take a seat at a nearby table.

"Come on, Prongs. Let's go." Sirius and Remus both guided him out the door. James turned back to look one last time, fuming when he saw Lily giggle and blush at something that Alexander had said.

Lily still couldn't believe that she was on a date with the Alexander Whitney. They had had a great time that day, strolling the streets of Hogsmeade. They had gone into Remy D's Potion Lotions, where Alexander had taken almost an hour asking the owner's advice on what to do with his drying cuticles and lengthening hair, even though Lily thought he looked absolutely perfect. He spent another half an hour telling the pretty clerk about his modelling potential and another half an hour staring at his reflection in the mirror. Lily didn't mind. She was just grateful to be in his presence, let alone on a date with him. Then the two dropped off at the Quidditch Store, where Alexander had gathered a crowd of devouted girls (and some guys), which listened with rapture about his great feats on the Quidditch field. Lily finally got him to go into Durvish and Banges, but only for a moment before Alexander pulled her out to go to Honeydukes, where he bought her a big box of chocolate bunnies with a little, stuffed bunny attached to it. They then decided to satisfy their appetites at the Three Broomsticks.

They entered the bustling restaurant and took the first table they say. "Here you are, milady," Alexander said debonairly, gesturing her to sit down in the seat he pulled out for her.

"Why, thank you, milord," she giggled, sitting and then placing her stuffed bunny in the seat next to her. Just out of the corner of her eye, she saw James and his gang of buffoons leaving the building. But she didn't let the sight of him interfere with her date with Alexander.

"So, what can I get for you two lovebirds?" Rosie asked, pulling out her notepad.

Alexander scratched his chin, "We'll have two butterbeers. Thanks, sugar," he winked. "So, Lily, tell me about yourself?"

Being the strong, independent woman she is, it bothered Lily that Alexander had order her drink without asking her, but seeing how it was Alexander she let it slide. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"Anything. Everything," replied Alexander. The rest of the time went in a blur. Lily talked for a bit. Alexander talked a lot…a lot about himself, but Lily didn't mind. They were both having a good time with eachother. It had been a perfectly lovely date, a date any girl could ever want.

Dawn quickly turned to dusk, and students started to return to the school after their day off at Hogsmeade. The temperature rapidly decreased as the sun set and the skies grew to brilliant shades of red and purple. When they saw that people were beginning to go home leaving the once crowded streets of Hogsmeade now desolate, Lily and Alexander decided it was finally time to head back towards Hogwarts. They walked close together along the marked path, but not touching. The wind was starting to pick up, and Lily shivered ever-so-slightly from the cool gust of wind. She pulled her cardigan closer wishing she had brought her cloak instead and feeling grateful that she didn't put on that skirt Grave had told her to put on.

"Are you cold?" Alexander asked, interrupting another fascinating story, when he saw Lily rub her hands together to try and produce some sort of heat. It was hard to believe that it was so warm earlier in the day. Now, it was so cold that she half expected snow to start falling any second. But she didn't say so.

"No," she chattered. Alexander shrugged and was about to continue when she said, "Okay, well. . .maybe, just a little."

Alexander shook his head a little. "Yeah, it's a little nippy, but don't you worry," he comforted. "We'll be back at the castle before you know it," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder, but wrapping his own heavy jacket tighter.

Lily smiled at his touch. "You're right, I guess. I can see Hogwarts now." Even though she saw it, the castle was quite a distance aways for the two. She stared at the castle longingly thinking of the warm fire waiting for her in the Gryffindor common room, while Alexander resumed with his story. She was only half listening to Alexander talk about how he saved his whole family from a group of attacking gnomes who had found their way into his home. Lily was too fixated on Alexander's arm on her shoulder.

Alexander and Lily walked the rest of the way to the castle in silence occasionally glancing and smiling at each other. When they came through the big wooden doors, Lily was only too glad to get out of the cold and into Hogwarts. At the point where they were to go their separate ways to their common rooms, they stopped. It was a few seconds before either said anything. But then Alexander opened his mouth, "I never did tell you how good you looked today."

He looked her up and down. Lily blushed under his gaze and at the compliment. "Thanks," she said bashfully. There was a long pause in which Alexander looked around at the empty halls and Lily shuffled her feet. "Well, I had a wonderful time with you today."

"So did I," Alexander replied. Then there was _another_ awkward pause. "I'd best be going. It's getting late."

"Yeah," Lily looked at her watch to see just how late it was, and without warning, Alexander gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She was in a dream! Alexander Whitney just kissed her!

"Bye," he whispered, and then began for the Hufflepuff room. Lily watched him leave in kind of a daze. Then, just as Lily turned away, he turned and yelled, "Lily?"

"Hmm?"

"Eat breakfast with me tomorrow? Nine o'clock."

"I would love to," she answered.

"Great!" He flashed her a big grin that could make her knees weak. Leaving her to walk up to her room in a daze.

_

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Question: Would you rather go on a date with a person like Holly or with a person like Alexander (personality-wise)? Don't forget to answer when you review!_


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